Beverage package



July 19, 1955 PETERS 2,713,543

BEVERAGE PACKAGE Filed Oct. 10, 1951 United States Patent BEVERAGE PACKAGE Leo Peters, Evanston, Ill. Application October 10, 1951, Serial No. 250,708

3 Claims. (Cl. 99171) This invention relates to a beverage package or bever age container. The invention, however, is applicable for other liquids as will be observed from the disclosure set out.

This application constitutes a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 53,507, filed October 8, 1948, for Beverage Package, now abandoned.

Beverages today are sold in rigid or semi-rigid bottles or containers and usually in glass bottles. All of the containers are closed with a cap or stopper separately attached, screwed on, clamped or inserted. In the case of carbonated beverages the closure is a clamped-on metal cap.

In the low-priced (55/2 per bottle) carbonated beverage field, practically all of the bottles are of shapes and designs requiring the use of more glass than an eflicient enclosure of the contents (judged from a purely mathematical standpoint) would require. Many of the bottles have a weight which is more than two and one-half times that of the liquid contents. These heavy bottles, with their strong metal caps, are disadvantageous because of their weight, the space they occupy in shipping, the cases required to house them during shipping, storage, and display, and their high cost. The consumer is required to carry home bottles which weight much more than their contents and later is required to return the empty bottles in order to recover a deposit fee. The empty bottles must be washed at the factory before use again and despite inspection and expensive safeguards, foreign bodies sometimes remain in the bottles when they are refilled.

In the drinking of the contents of the bottles, the bottle has to be raised and as the contents drain from the bottle, air from the streets has to pass through the liquid to occupy the space from which the liquid is being drained. Thus there is washing of the liquid with dusty air. Also, with the bottle in the tipped-up position, tities of air are consumed along with the unpieasant after-effects.

Ordinary flexible containers are light in weight but if considered for beverage containers, would be promptly beverage, with sizeable quanrejected because such containers with liquid therein wobbly structure in which portions of the container flop from one side to another during handling and present an unsightly structure which is difiicult to hold or carry.

There has long been a need for a light-weight container through which the contents of the container are visible while at the same time providing an attractive present a flimsy,

and relatively rigid or semi-rigid structure which can be conveniently handled, while at the same time dispensing with metal caps and other closures which are diflicult to remove, etc.

An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid or beverage container in which an extremely lightweight, completely flexible structure is employed for holding the liquid while at the same time providing means for rendering the package relatively rigid or semi 2,713,543 Patented July 19, 1955 rigid, and while providing an integral closure which is readily torn, cut, or unfolded to provide access to the contents of the container. Yet another object is to provide a package which is normally held through the use of gas pressure in extended or distended position so that the container walls have the contour of a rigid or semi-rigid receptacle while, upon the opening of the container, providing flexible walls which may be manipulated to feed the beverage upwardly through an outlet into the mouth of the consumer. A still further object is to provide a container of a'special shape which provides maximum enclosure space with a minimum of surface area and is effective for containing internal pressures while at the same time being translucent and of light weight. Other specific objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds.

The invention is illustrated in one embodiment, by the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. l is a perspective view of a container formed in accordance with my invention but having the outlet tube therefrom open; Fig. 2, a view similar to Fig. l but showing the outlet tube sealed; Fig. 3, a side view in elevation illustrating the squeezing of the body of the container to cause the contents thereof to pass upwardly through the outlet tube and into the drinkers mouth; and Fig. 4, an edge view of the container in collapsed condition.

In the illustration given, 10 designates a flexible container which is preferably globular or spherical and which is equipped with an integral outlet tube or neck 11.

In the practice of my invention, the flexible body 10 is filled with a liquid and with a gas, and the outer end of the tube 11 is then sealed at 12. If a thermoplastic material is used for forming the tube 11, the seal 12 is produced preferably by heat sealing.

The container 10 is preferably formed of a transparent plastic material which is sufficiently sturdy to protect the contents under pressure and under the stress of shipping and handling. I have found particularly useful such thermoplastic material as the vinyl chloride-acetate copolymers, rubber hydrochloride, vinylidene chloride, polyethylene, the polyarnides and various modifications of these resins as are well known for making desirable container film. Any of the well known plastic materials which are not thermoplastic, but which are translucent or transparent and provide sturdy walls, may also be used.

The liquid may be any type of liquid which it is desired to transport but the invention is believed to be particularly useful with beverages. Any suitable gas which will exert pressure upon the walls of the container and maintain them in extended or'distended condition while at the same time being-harmless as far as the liquid contents are com cerned, may be employed. For example, with beverages, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and other well known gases which are employed with beverages or with foods, etc. may be used.

In the filling of the container, the gas and liquid are charged into the container under pressure and through the neck or tube 11 and then while still under pressure, the end portion of the neck 11 is sealed at 12 by heat sealing, the application of adhesive thereto, folding, or by any other desired means. I have discovered that when a gas is introduced into the container and under sufiicient pressure to maintain the walls of the container in tightlyextended or distended condition, that the resulting package has the contour of a rigid package, even though it contains a load of liquid, and the package can be handled with the facility and convenience with which a glass bottle or other rigid container may be handled. There is a slight yielding of the flexible walls upon contact with the fingers or upon contact with other containers in a shipping case, but such yielding is slight and the slight yielding is highly desirable in connection with shipping and handling. The flimsy, Wobbly character of an ordinary liquid container disappears under the combined influence of the gas pressure and the round shape and the purchaser of the package finds that he can handle the container with the same case that he can handle a rigid glass bottle.

When it is desired to drink the contents of the container, the user may tear the material longitudinally of the upper portion of tube it or he may sever the top portion of the tube and the contents of the container may be drunk, as illustrated in Fig. 3. By placing the tube 11 within the mouth, and gently squeezing the sides of the container, the liquid is directed upwardly and into the mouth as desired. No air enters the container and none is required to enter because the walls of the container collapse behind the withdrawn liquid and there is no tendency for air to be drawn therein and into admixture with the liquid. The beverage being swallowed thus contains no air and no impurities which would be present in the beverage as a result of contact with dusty air, etc. Instead of having to raise the bottle or instead of sucking the contents through a straw, the drinker using my container is able to control the flow of beverage into the mouth by the gentle squeezing of the flexible walls of the container.

The container may be of any desired shape. I prefer, however, to employ a container which is spherical in shape, not only because this type of container is effective for withstanding the pressure of the gasses and for providing the utmost capacity with a minimum surface area, but also because the globular type of container tends to maintain its shape more readily and, under the influence of the gas pressure, provides an extremely sturdy and manageable container. I prefer to employ the plastic or thermoplasitc materials such as vinylidene chloride and the like in such thicknesses as to maintain the container without breaking under the internal pressures and normally in its globular or spherical shape and to present resistance to collapsing while at the same time, however, being collapsible under the pressure of the fingers of the user. Satisfactory packages for example have been formed in relatively thin dimensions such as .002 to .003 inch thick.

The container may be formed from sections which are united by heat sealing or by adhesives, etc., or the spherical container may be formed by blowing the same, as in the blowing of glass products. The latter process is desirable because it produces a seamless spherical product equipped with an integral tube. It will be understood, however, that a container may be formed by a variety of methods and in a variety of shapes.

After emptying the container, the drinker can simply discard it. Because it is completely collapsible, it takes up little space in a disposal can. Further, in shipping the containers to the bottler, vast quantities can be shipped in small space because of their collapsed condition and the same can be carefully sterilized before being packaged at the factory.

It is important that the flexible container be formed of non-elastic material, that is a material which does not stretch under the weight of the contents and under the gas pressure which is required to keep the bulk of the gas in solution in the beverage or which is required to distent the container walls. For example, vinylidene chloride, even in a relatively thin film, is found to retain the liquid contents without stretching and under pressure sufficient to keep the bulk of the gas in solution. It is also practicable to use plastic and thermoplastic material which ordinarily stretches when in very thin form but in thicknesses which prevent the container from stretching under the weight of the contents and under the pressure of the gas employed to keep the bulk of the gas in solution. By the use of the term non-elastic, I intend to mean a film which, by reason of its constitution or its thickness, will not tend to stretch under the weight of the contents and under the gaseous pressure employed.

With the above construction, and after the tube 11 has been opened, the only pressure urging the liquid from the container is that of the gas therein, the walls having no tendency to contract. The dispensing of the contents is therefore similar to the conditions under which the beverage is dispensed from a solid vessel, such as a bottle, except that here the user has a further control in that she may press the walls inwardly as desired to control the outflow of the beverage.

While in the foregoing specification, I have set forth a single embodiment of the invention in considerable detail for the purpose of illustrating one phase of the invention, it will be understood that the details of the structure may be varied widely by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A beverage package, comprising a generally spherical container having collapsible Walls, the walls of said container being flexible but non-elastic and being light-tight and gas-retaining, a sealed outlet tube connected to said container adapted to be opened and to communicate with the interior of said container, a beverage liquid within said container and partially filling the same, and a gas maintained under pressure within said container and pressing against the walls of said container to prevent them from collapsing until the gas pressure within said container is released.

2. A beverage package comprising a generally spherical container of thermoplastic material in a non-stretchable condition, the walls of said container being flexible to permit said container to be collapsed, a relatively rigid outlet tube integrally connected to said container and arranged to communicate with the interior of said container, said tube being releasably sealed, a beverage liquid within said container and partially filling the same, and a gas maintained under pressure within said container and thereby rigidifying the walls of said container to prevent them from collapsing until the gas pressure within said container is released.

3. A carbonated beverage package, comprising a generally spherical container of non-elastic thermoplastic material in a non-stretchable condition, said container having flexible walls to permit it to be collapsed, a sealed outlet tube connected to said container adapted to communicate with the interior of said container, and a carbonated beverage within said container consisting of a liquid beverage with carbon dioxide gas dissolved therein, said gas exerting pressure against the walls of said container to maintain the spherical shape of said container until the gas pressure within said container is released.

Chemical and Engineering News, May 16, 1949, page 1474, article entitled Packaging and Materials Handling. 

1. A BEVERAGE PACKAGE, COMPRISING A GENERALLY SPHERICAL CONTAINER HAVING COLLAPSIBLE WALLS, THE WALLS OF SAID CONTAINER BEING FLEXIBLE BUT NON-ELASTIC AND BEING LIGHT-TIGHT AND GAS-RETAINING, A SEALED OUTLET TUBE COMMUNICATE WITH CONTAINER ADAPTED TO BE OPENED AND TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE INTERIOR OF SAID CONTAINER, A BEVERAGE LIQUID WITHIN 